Muammar Gaddafi is Dead

by dsussmanOctober 20, 2011 at 12:00PM
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According to reports, as fighters tried to bring the eight-month uprising in Libya to a close, former leader Muammar Gaddafi was successfully killed earlier today in his home town of Sirte after it was seized by rebels.

Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril announced that Gaddafi passed away from multiple wounds to his head and leg, but it is still unclear whether or not he died in a Nato air strike, a ground firefight, or in the tunnels in the home town. "We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed,"
Jibril said. According to a US official, Libyan leaders did in fact confirm Gaddafi's death to Washington.

"Today, Libya's future begins. Gaddafi's black era has come to an end for ever," Libyan charge d'affaires Mahmud Nacua told a press conference today. "The Libyan people are looking forward to a very promising future where they can finally start building the free democratic state for which they have fought for about eight months now."

An unverified and extremely graphic video of Gaddafi's body being dragged through the streets of Sirte has also begun to make the rounds on the ol Internets today. Hit theGuardian website if you have any interest in checking out the gory video footage in all its glory.

President Barack Obama also recently held a press conference and gave his personal thoughts on this very historic day. Here is a portion of Obama's statement via CNN:

"Today, the government of Libya announced the death of Moammar Gadhafi. This marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya, who now have the opportunity to determine their own destiny and a new and democratic Libya. For four decades, the Gadhafi regime ruled the Libyan people with an iron fist. Basic human rights were denied, innocent civilians were detained, beaten and killed, Libya's wealth was squandered. The enormous potential of the Libyan people was held back, and terror was used as a political weapon. Today we can definitively say that the Gadhafi regime has come to an end. The last major regime strongholds have fallen. A new government is consolidating control over the country. One of the world's longest serving dictators is no more."